This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application 60/828,679, filed on Oct. 9, 2006. The disclosure of the above application is incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to a fastener for fastening an air bag such as a curtain air bag (CAB) to a structural member of a vehicle such as the vehicle's roof rail.
The present invention includes a fastener for removably securing an air bag, which is part of an assembly, to a structural member of a vehicle such as the vehicle's roof rail or seat frame. The fastener comprises a base plate with a front side and a rear side; the rear side acts as a stop surface. The fastener also includes a resilient snap-in member. Each fastener has two opposing and coacting resilient expansion elements (also referred to as clips or clamps), which generally extend from the rear side and are designed to clamp to a mounting surface such as a thin plate or plate-like structure of a structural member; when clamped the thin plate is between the stop or clamping surface and the base plate of the fastener. The air bag is arranged between the rear side of the base plate and the structural member and with the clip portion of the fastener extending through an opening in a tab or border portion of the air bag. In the preferred embodiment of the invention the fastener is used to fasten the air bag to the vehicle; however, the fastener of the present invention can be used to secure components other than air bags to various mounting surfaces. The invention optionally includes a tool that can be used to displace each resilient clip to a configuration permitting removal of the fastener from the mounting surface. Once removed from the mounting surface, the fastener can be reused as it is not damaged during removal or disassembly.